Lecture on Pomor huts at the Moscow Lecture Hall of the Russian Geographical Society

The seaside fishing huts of the Pomors, or tonya, are elements of the Pomor culture and should be preserved as such, Vladimir Shchetanov, who organized expeditions to these huts for cadets from a boarding school called Navigatskaya School, said in a lecture at the Moscow Lecture Hall of the Russian Geographical Society.

"The heritage of our forefathers will live on if we find a new use for it," Shchetanov said. He believes that these fishing huts could be used as an open-air museum, a laboratory for historical and geographical experiments, camps for onsite marine or history training for school children, or as artistic objects and fair and conference venues.

Cadets from Navigatskaya School spoke at the lecture about their trip to the Tetrin and Ivankov fishing huts, which sit opposite one another on the northern and southern shores of Kandalaksha Bay on the White Sea. The cadets said they had been introduced to the Pomors' way of life, household practices and crafts.

Tonya is a complex of huts and household buildings of the Pomors, who were Russian settlers on the White Sea. The Tetrin tonya was renovated by local lore expert Alexander Komarov to be an open-air museum. The Ivankov tonya is used for training by the Chupa Sea Yachting Club.